Conventional tire chains have been in use for many years and are particularly effective on highways that are relatively lightly covered with snow. When such roads are traveled, the snow is quickly packed down into an icy surface coating that is unsafe for traffic without the help of chains.
Because the snow covering of the road is often intermittent with stretches of clear pavement interspersed therealong, the conventional snow chains cannot be bulky since they will interfere with road travel over clear pavement stretches causing unacceptable vibration and noise.
Unfortunately, situations are sometimes encountered in which such relatively lightweight snow chains are not as effective as they need to be. The automobile may become hung up in a snow drift or it might inadvertently be driven off the snow covered roadway obscured by heavy snow. In such cases, as the tires spin, the lightweight chains tend to clog with ice and frozen snow and the vehicle cannot be extricated from the snow drift. For such situations, a chain with heavy paddle-type lugs is needed if the automobile is to return under its own power to the roadway.
The present invention provides robust paddle-type lugs which may be readily secured to the chains at the scene of the difficulty, and with the lugs attached the necessary improvement in traction is realized. Once the vehicle has returned to a relatively lightly covered roadway, the lugs may be easily removed.